ANC in Ekurhuleni clarifies EFF MMC allegations

The ANC in Ekurhuleni says parties that hold posts in the mayoral committee should appreciate available internal means of seeking accountability, information and clarity to reflect accurately and to propose justifiable interventions.

The ANC said this on Tuesday after a media briefing held by the EFF, which holds half the mayoral committee seats in council, on the state of the city. The other five MMC seats are held by the ANC.

In its briefing, after what it deemed a thorough assessment of the state of affairs in Ekurhuleni, the EFF highlighted among issues the nonpayment of service providers, the city’s low conditional grants allocation and “missing waste trucks”.

In response, ANC Ekurhuleni caucus chairperson Jongizizwe Dlabathi said all parties in the collaborative governance arrangement had to preserve the integrity of the institution, while tackling service delivery deficiencies.

“We must desist from uttering unfounded statements about the state of the city and its affairs, without proper verification of facts,” said Dlabathi.

Dlabathi said operational deficiencies should be properly comprehended and articulated by leaders of political parties in council, especially by deployed MMCs — who enjoyed the privilege of obtaining information about the accurate state of their respective portfolios.

“MMCs must not venture into undermining the functions of others, including interference with the portfolios of their counterparts."

Dlabathi addressed what he termed the factual inaccuracies concerning the "false" allegations of lost trucks, saying these were detrimental to the image of the city and its administration.

“The ANC in the municipality was puzzled by some of the statements made around the waste department, in particular the false narrative that some trucks might have been stolen,” he said.

Dlabathi said council approved Item A-F 16-2023, wherein 53 trucks were recommended for write-off, while 28 we were undergoing repairs.

“We are clarifying these against statements that had the potential to tarnish the city. The facts around the fleet are readily available and it requires an affected MMC to simply collate the information, analyse and make proper sense.”

The party defended city officials who were targeted by the EFF, saying they have a better appreciation of municipal processes and systems.

“We encourage all officials not to be intimidated and that they must adhere to good governance, and not illogical and illegal instructions. No trucks must be used for party cleaning campaigns.

“In fact, the executive mayor, working with MMC of waste and the MMC responsible for service delivery co-ordination, must implement the community-based cleaning programme as committed during the state of the city address,” he said.

Dlabathi also took aim at EFF finance MMC Nkululeko Dunga’s comments that the city had R200m in unpaid invoices.

“Reckless and untested statements around nonpayment of invoices as well as the insinuation of corruption must be avoided, for they are damning to the city’s ability to access funding from the market.

“The nonpayment of certain invoices cannot be equated to corruption, without understanding the circumstances of nonpayment. This could be easily established using internal mechanisms,” said Dlabathi.

Dlabathi said it was important for any MMC responsible for finance to appreciate that the city was partly sourcing funds through external loans and bonds, and that prospective investors followed developments around cities.

“As the ANC in council, we want to preside over a stable municipality that is capable, developmental and sustainable.

“The ANC will not be spectators, for we represent 78 of the 112 wards.”

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